Photograph metadata is data that has been written into a digital photograph file. Multiple photographic metadata standards exist and each include different sets of data written to the photograph. Data written to the photographs may include, but is not limited to, an owner of the photograph, copyright information, contact information for the photograph owner, a camera serial number, exposure information, and GPS location indicating where the photograph was taken. Some new technologies may identify the people in the photographs and include the names of those photographed in the metadata.
Metadata maintained with the digital photograph file can be accessed and read by most computing devices. Photographs uploaded to websites, including social media platforms, may maintain the metadata written to the digital photograph file by the camera. The rise of photograph sharing via social media has revealed a privacy concern for users who are unaware of what information is shared when the photograph is published.
Metadata may be removed from digital photograph files by some social media platforms. Once the metadata is removed from the photograph by the social media platform the metadata cannot be retrieved for that file. Unless a secondary copy of a digital photograph file is maintained by the user, the metadata can be lost.